"You Dirty Rat! You chewed my wires!" Now the repair...

[Dana Champion]

Hi all,

Searched the site for help on this, not much luck.

My 2.1 '88 auto Westy survived the Thomas Fire, here in Ca, BUT....

A psycho rat got into my engine compartment and went nuts chewing wires!

I'm in the process of acquiring the necessary wires to put it back, so it looks almost like nothing happened.

One of my questions is removing the hard plastic intake snorkel connection right behind the right tail light. The rat chewed the wires going to the idle stabilizer control module! My intake snorkel is in great shape going up to the air scoop, I don't want to mess with it. I'm thinking the rivet that connects the two hard plastic hoses gets drilled out, and it comes apart?

I have a picture of my engine, pre-chew, to help putting it back, but I'll need help with where wires are supposed to go.

Suggestion - have pictures of your wiring (or other stuff) for future reference.

I trapped two rats and have used peppermint oil to deter them. Fun times!

Thanks,

Dana

[Zeitgeist 13]

Wow, that's the worst rodent damage I've ever seen. You can drill out that rivet, but I was able to just squeeze the snorkel tube so that it pulled away from the rivet and the tubes separated.
_________________
Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[Nickel_Nackel]

also try not to lather the wires in peanut butter.
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1985 1.9L Potato

[Abscate]

[djkeev]

I HATES Meeces!!!!!

Apparently I have "Ghost mice" chewing up paper towels and leaving poop behind.........

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=693457

Dave
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http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

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[Dana Champion]

Thanks Casey,

I'll drill out the rivet.

Dave,

I saw your post. Almost commented. I had the same thing as you several years ago. I had

evidence of a mouse getting into a zip lock bag of peanuts in mine. Never saw it again. Now,

I try not to leave food in the van... unless I'm camping

.... The Thomas Fire started 4 miles from where I live. The house next door burned to the

ground, and the other neighbor lost his barn and a few out buildings. My '70 Westy got

singed a bit, bubbled paint, and a couple melted reflectors !


Before I realized the damage, I had gotten in the van ('88)to start it. It turned over, but, it

sounded dead. Good thing the rat wasn't into fuel lines !

New STI spark plug wires are coming today. Think I have the " syndrome" harness coming



Moving slow on this.

I will say that peppermint oil has to smell much better than mountain lion urine! At least on

clothing , and upholstery ! Peppermint oil comes in a "sachet", and a spray

I've had rats on my engine before. I've seen evidence of acorns near #3 cyl.

I may have even seen the rat... a black rat ran up the oak tree near my van, shortly after the

fire. The two that I caught were gray.

The fun continues

Thanks for the support !

[Vanagon Nut]

Wow. Thats some Alpha Rat damage.

I live in the forest, and may eat my words here, (the van I'm working on right now hasn't moved in some time) but keeping the vehicle moving, or keeping it noisy (working on it) really helps. Shame about the VS pigtail. It can't be repaired?
_________________
1981 Westy DIY 15º ABA

1988 West DIY 50º ABA

VE7TBN

[pushkick]

i had the same issue with mice but they chewed my fuel lines so i had to put a braided ss sheath over the lines when i replaced them. the mice made a nest on the top bunk of the camper cushion and chewed the rear hatch cover blanket for the nest material. lucky they didnt chew the cushions. i keep all food in a metal cans to stop them from getting at the food. i also use mouse traps at various places in the van to catch them. this winter the birds have been under and inside the engine compartment pooping all over the place and they like to sit on the mirrors and poop for some reason. so i had to make cloth covers for the mirrors to keep the poop off the mirrors. i wish i still had a cat to help with these things.
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i see said the blind man to his deaf dog
i am going to quit smoking and drinking and die a healthy man. gotta laugh
there is no deed to the planet earth
1990 vw automatic camper

[Dana Champion]

Looking through the side marker lite opening

I have the tail lights out so it's not so inviting !

Here's a shot pre chew ; running.

[Zeitgeist 13]

This really helps me to appreciate my cats even more than ever.
_________________
Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[izzydog]

My local mice don't seem to like my engine compartment as much as my interior so I keep a snap trap ready to go on the floor by the sink. I personally use a bacon/peanut butter combination that seems to be a big hit (pun intended) with the furry little devils. Yum!

Mice intrusion seems to runs in cycles here. I whack 3 or 4 of them in as many days and then nothing for a month and then it starts all over again. If only I could get a look at their schedules...

I had a mouse fall into the heating duct at the drivers b-pillar. I have a Westy so that duct is a vertical death sentence for mice. I could smell something but because the door closes on that duct, it was only there when the door was open. I fished my trusty Harbor Fright inspection camera down there and then recovered all the pieces (yes, pieces) of the mouse with a springy claw tool thing. Worked like a charm but the duct still really stank so I dumped a load of kitty litter down there and vacuumed it out after 3 days. STILL smelled, so I dumped a half pint of rubbing alcohol down there and that did the trick.

Be sure to check your other cars nearby because they set up camp in my Disco parked 10 feet away as well.

Cat? My last cat use to chew on wires. Chewed through a telephone cord one time while I was on the phone...

[Zeitgeist 13]

Our cat is hell on iPhone ear buds. I think she's taken out something like five sets.

Another Thunder Dome for tiny rodents is the plastic cases for the front seatbelts. I had a vole climb in there years ago and have the temerity to die and then stink up my '88 GL
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Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?